Kristen Schaal Joins The Cloudy With A Chance Of Meatballs Sequel

Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs was an unexpected delight. The 2009 film from Sony Pictures Animation, nominated for several Annie Awards, was based on the children's book from by Judi and Ron Barrett and brought to the big screen by the duo of Phil Lord and Chris Miller. And while co-writers/directors Lord and Miller won't be back for the sequel, Cloudy 2: Revenge of the Leftovers, the talented cast including Bill Hader, Anna Faris and Andy Samberg (and, please, Mr. T), are all on-board as well as a great new voice in comedian Kristen Schaal.

THR reports that Schaal has just joined the developing animated sequel at Sony. She should be a great fit as a now seasoned voice-actress. Schaal supplied her voice for Pixar's Toy Story 3 but the actor really shines in her current gig as youngest daughter Louise on Fox's animated series Bob's Burgers. She's also well known for her recent stint on 30 Rock as well as being a correspondent for The Daily Show, not to mention her breakout performance (for me anyway) as the Flight Of The Conchords number one (and for the most part only) fan Mel.

The article includes limited details about the role that Schaal will be playing in C2L, only that she'll be playing an orangutan. Perhaps that means that Steve, the talking, gummy-bear-obsessed monkey from the first film (voiced by Neil Patrick Harris), is getting a love interest in the sequel? Who knows what new writers John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein (Horrible Bosses) and directors Cody Cameron and Kris Pearn (animators and story artists on the underrated Surf's Up) have in sitting in the fridge for Leftovers?

It's been confirmed that the second installment will not follow the Barrett's second novel, "Pickles to Pittsburgh," but the first was such a loose adaptation that this isn't a cause for concern, and makes complete sense. The film will simply follow Flint Lockwood (with pals Sam Sparks and Baby Brent) on a new adventure in Swallow Falls that includes the creation of 'sentient food beasts' that then wreak havoc on the island. Cloudy 2: Revenge of the Leftovers was originally scheduled for December 20, 2013 but has since been pushed for a February 7, 2014 release.